Winner Take All
1951 INTRO (TV): KRAMER: "Do you wanna be a winner?" AUDIENCE: "YES!" KRAMER: "Play Winner Take All! (do it!) Yes, it's Winner Take All, with songs and dances by Betty Jane Watson, Jerry Austen, and Howard Malone. With music and surprises, questions and prizes. And your Winner Take All host, Barry Gray!" 1952 INTRO (STANDALONE SERIES): PARDO: "Do you want to be a winner?" AUDIENCE: "YES!" PARDO: "Then sound your buzzer! BZZZ! Sound your bell! RIIIING And play Winner Take All with our Winner Take All quizmaster Bill Cullen!" Time to bring in your bell and buzzer, because it's time to learn about Winner Take All. Gameplay Two contestants (one of them being a returning champion) competed in this game full of firsts (explanation later). It was a question & answer game show in which contestants signaled to answer each question. Each contestant had a different signal sound. One contestant's signal sound was a bell, and the other had a buzzer signal sound. The first player to signal had a chance to answer. A correct answer scored one point, but an incorrect answer from the player who signaled in first gave his/her opponent a chance to answer. The first player to score three points won the game, received a prize, and faced another player. Skits & Challenges When the show became a TV series, it adapted new challenges into the game. For example, contestants watched live skits performed by other cast members, and the contestants were asked about what they saw. Another example saw contestants blindfolded so they wouldn't see an item in front of their podium; they had feel it out in order to guess what it was. Rating Music Bernard Leighton (1948-1951) Arlo (1952) Firsts As mentioned earlier, this was the show full of firsts, because it premiered many, many things, things that would become available on many more game shows. *It was the first game show hosted by Bill Cullen, who started out as the radio version's announcer. *It was the first game show to air on the CBS television network. *It was the first game show produced & created by Goodson-Todman. *It was the first game show to have two or more contestants compete against each other. *It was the first game show to have contestants buzz/ring in/signal to answer a question. *It was the first game show to have returning champions. Merchandise A quiz book with over 2,000 questions was published by Crown Publishing in 1949. $T2eC16F,!zEE9s3!(JrCBSG5KQG(Eg~~60_57.JPG Trivia In 1955, an unsold pilot called Play for Keeps! was produced; the format was similar to Winner with some slight changes, the most obvious being that it was played for cash prizes in increments of $1,000. Production Location New York City, NY Links [http://www.game-show-utopia.net/winnertakeall.htm Winner Take All at Bill Cullen's World] [http://userdata.acd.net/ottinger/cullen/tvseries/winner.html Winner Take All at The Bill Cullen Homepage] YouTube Videos All of the below dates are for the TV versions. Gray Version A full episode from April 12, 1951 A full episode from April 16, 1951 A full episode from April 17, 1951 Cullen Version A full episode from February 27, 1952 A full episode from February 28, 1952 A full episode from March 5, 1952 A full episode from March or April 1952 Category:General Knowledge Quiz Category:Variety Category:Radio Category:Primetime shows Category:Daytime shows Category:Network daytime shows Category:Network shows Category:ABC shows Category:CBS shows Category:NBC shows Category:Goodson-Todman Productions Category:Fremantle Category:Revivals Category:1946 premieres Category:1947 premieres Category:1947 endings Category:1948 premieres Category:1948 endings Category:1949 premieres Category:1949 endings Category:1950 endings Category:1951 premieres Category:1951 endings Category:1952 premieres Category:1952 endings Category:15 Minute Game Shows Category:30 Minute Game Shows